The Legend Of RAIN: Meltdown
by CLOUD MARIO
Summary: Four years have passed since team RAIN, RWBY and JNPR saved the world from Operation MoonLight. Freedom is still a threat however and its up to Ratchet and Ruby to stop them before they can try and wipe out all life again. Secrets, darkness, madness, cuddles and unthinkable decisions. This is the sequel to The Legend Of RAIN...and the storm has yet to come
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Journey Begins

It's been four years since teams RAIN, JNPR and RWBY stopped Operation MoonLight. Although good triumphed over evil that day, it came with a price.

That price was Pyrrha Nikos.

She was killed before the actual fighting started and it broke Ratchet, the leader of RAIN, in more ways than one. After confronting the leader of the Freedom base, who was his own father, Ratchet faked his death for his mission was far from done. Freedom was much larger than him and his friends originally thought and he needed to stop them from trying to wipe out all life on Remnant.

Ruby Rose is the only person that knows Ratchet faked his death. She has accompanied him in the Badlands after graduating Beacon. However she never told anyone she was leaving. Due to her sudden disappearance, all of her friends searched frantically for her but the search was given up eventually. Yang was devastated and became depressed. But she recently heard rumors of a scythe wielding girl in a white hood out in the Badlands and she went to search for her to see if it was Ruby.

Everyone else is relatively fine though and have grown from the four years since fighting Freedom.

But with the rest of Freedom looming somewhere in the Badlands and Ratchet slowly losing his sanity, time is against our hero as he tries to save everyone from certain doom.

 _The Badlands_

 _It's been a total of four years. Four long years in this hellhole. How people live out here is beyond me but I can't leave, not yet. I still have to stop Freedom and what's worse is that I think we're being hunted._

 _I know we are being followed but I don't know by who or what and it's driving me crazy. Well…I'm not sure what to say now. That's as much as an update as ever I suppose._

 _I've heard everyone is doing well back in Vale. That's good…I can't imagine they would be very happy with me and what I've done but it's not like I was given a choice. I'm doing this for them._

 _For her…_

 _Anyway, I need to get a move on. It's getting dark and that's when it's best to move around._

Ratchet closed the book and sighed to himself. The small journal in his hand was a gift from someone he met out here when he first showed up. Literally on day three, she had found him and gave him this small book. She told him it was best to write down your feelings or thoughts rather than bottle them up.

Slowly, he gets up and pockets the small journal and pencil. He turns toward the other figure in the small cave. She was small and adorable as ever and she was putting on her white cloak with a smile.

"See something you like?" She teases.

Ratchet rolled his eyes. "Hurry up Ruby. We gotta get to Queens before the Paladins do. I don't feel like dealing with them."

Ruby saluted and picked up her sniper. "Aye captain!"

Together they step out of the cave and into the sleeping wastes. Ratchet taught Ruby that moving from place to place at night was better than doing it in the daytime. More Grimm showed up at night but compared to the nightmarish amount of crazies out during the day, Grimm weren't a problem.

The wind was hot. Almost as hot as the sun baking your skin on a nice non cloudy day. The bizarre weather out here was impossible to predict and made surviving harder than it needed to be. Thankfully, humans can adapt to almost all situations. Ratchet lifted his purple scarf up to his nose and put up his hood so his face was partially covered. Ruby only had her cloak but she did put on some goggles that resembled Neptune's and than stood behind Ratchet so he would be like a wall towards the wind coming at them.

"Ready kid?" Ratchet asked.

Ruby pouts and lightly slaps his back. "Come on Ratchet! I'm 20 this year!"

"So you are."

Ratchet starts walking into the storm with Ruby right behind him. The two have a strong bond with each other and have done so much out here as a team. Some good, but mostly all bad.

Ratchet always reminds himself why he does the things he does out here. Ruby holds his hand and he squeezes it tight.

 _For her… Everything I do is so she can be safe..._

 _A few hours later…_

The storm has passed and the shattered moon stills shines bright on Ratchet and Ruby as they reach a sign saying Queens is another 45 minutes away.

"45 minutes? What happened to using miles and kilometers and stuff." Ruby asked.

Ratchet shrugged. "I doubt people out here care. As long as they know where they're going and how long they need to walk then it's ok."

The two took a couple steps forward before they felt a rumbling beneath the cracked earth.

Ruby quickly got away from Ratchet. "I really hate these things!"

Ratchet took in a deep breath and breathed out slowly so he could stay calm and focused. The ground in front of them burst open and out came a creature. The type was unknown but Ratchet called it a Digger. These things were basically fatter and bigger versions of beavers except for the large claws that could crush through any type of rock or metal.

It screeched into the night sky when it saw Ratchet. The ear splitting sound gave Ruby a headache but Ratchet had fought these before, he knew how to deal with them.

Rushing forward towards the Digger, he released a solar wind from his body and made it flinch. As it raised its claws to shield its face from the fire, Ratchet punched it in the stomach hard enough that it coughed out a black heart. Quickly, he grabbed and crushed it making the beast spasm and fall over dead.

Ruby walked over to Ratchet and clapped her hands. "Impressive as always. And you didn't even use your gauntlets!" Ruby kicked the creatures leg. "What are they…Grimm don't have hearts right?"

It was a great question and Ratchet had no answer for it. He never knew what these things were and he may never know. _If Ivin was here he could help no doubt._

"The only person…no, the only thing I remember killing with a black heart before coming out here was Liz. She was some sort of demon but these guys can't be the same. At least, I hope not."

"You and me both." Ruby spit on the corpse and the two continued walking to Queens. Ratchet hoped he would finally get the answers that he was looking for but what he didn't want, was more questions.

In the distance, behind Ruby and Ratchet was a figure with glowing red eyes. It smiled and revealed sharp teeth and licked its lips with a long tongue.

"Soon…you'll be mine…"

* * *

 **A/N: Here we are! The first chapter in the new story of the RAIN saga!**

 **...**

 **Chronicles of RAIN?**

 **...**

 **Eh, I'll figure out a name for it at some point.**

 **Welp I can't say much but be ready for secrets, darkness, madness, cuddles and most importantly, combat that is worthy of the RWBY universe! Until next time.**

 **\- CLOUD MARIO**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Queens/Heading Out

The starry night sky was beautiful and bright along with the shattered moon above the pair walking through the Badlands. The sign that said it would only take 45 minutes to get to Queens was right. They arrived at the massive walls that surrounded the city. Ruby walked up towards one of the many guards by the gate.

"Why hello there." She said happily.

The guards just looked at each other.

"Uh…anyone home?" She asked.

A guard with a blue patch on his arm walked up to them. "What do you want?"

"Entry into Queens." Ratchet spoke up from behind Ruby.

The guard looked at them and shook his head. "No. I can tell you're both trouble. Especially you White Rose."

Ruby smiled. "Ah so you've heard of me?"

"Unfortunately…" He sighed.

Ratchet stepped up to him and the other guards lifted their rifles. "Listen all we want is to get inside. If you won't let us in then I have no problem forcing my way in. You know what she can do but you have no idea what I'm capable of."

The guards took a few steps forward but the one Ratchet was staring down held out his arm. "Fine. This can be The Widow's problem."

The guard headed towards an intercom and told the others to open the gates. Soon enough, the massive gates opened slowly and Ratchet and Ruby started walking towards the opening.

"Watch your back." One of the guards said to the pair.

Ruby stuck her tongue out and Ratchet ignored the comment. As they entered the city gates, the first thing they noticed was how huge the buildings were. All of them were close together and made of scrap metal. Clearly, this was the slums of Queens.

"So where do we go now?" Ruby asked curiously.

Ratchet looked around and sighed. "I don't know to be honest…"

 _Ivin's tower_

Ivin Kekovich was sitting at his desk and making paper balls out of some rather important files and tossing them into his trash bin. Lately he's been bored to the point that he doesn't even bother to do his work. Plus they were mostly bills and he had plenty of money so it didn't matter how much they were.

Ivin threw a paper ball towards his trash bin but over shot it. It hit the door and bounced off of it right as it opened and his secretary walked in. She wore glasses, black heels, pants and a vest with her blonde hair up in a ponytail.

"Mister Kekovich if you could please stop throwing your work around." She asked him as she picked up the ball and threw it in the bin and walked towards him.

Ivin rolled his eyes. "Well what else am I supposed to do? I'm so bored these days."

The secretary nodded and placed some more files on his desk. "I'm well aware. Ever since Miss Kekovich left to Atlas for a business meeting in your place, you have been rather moody."

"First of all, Neo insisted on going since she wanted to know what I do at those meetings so it's not like I just didn't want to go. And second, I'm not moody."

"Of course sir." She responded. "Anything I can do for you before I leave for home?"

Ivin spun in his chair so he faced the window and looked at the streets of Vale below him. "You ever wish you could go back in time?"

The secretary was taken aback by his sudden question. "Sir?"

Ivin sighed. "Sometimes I wish we could just go back. I wanna enjoy the good old days again. Back at Beacon. Back with my team."

The secretary noticed how sad Ivin sounded and she saw the two photos on his desk. The one on the left was team RAIN a month or two after Ivin joined up. The second was them and their friends graduating, except for a few people.

"You miss them don't you?" She said softly.

Ivin took out his pocket watch and opened it. Inside of it besides clockwork was a picture of him, Nick and Ratchet. The three of them went out for a guy night. And by that, Ivin was paying for everything. "Yeah…I do. I just want to see them all again. Ruby's adorable smile. Yang and her bad jokes. And Ratchet…just because he's a special kind of fool."

Ivin spun around in his chair and put his watch back in his pocket. "Anyway I'm sorry to keep you so late Lisa. You can head home now."

Lisa gave him a worried look. "Are you sure Mr Kekovich? I can still stay and talk if you'd like."

"Plenty of time for that any day of the week. Go home." Ivin said with a smile.

Lisa bowed her head and headed out of his office. Ivin was left alone and he sighed to himself. After a few minutes of just sitting at his desk, he opened one of the drawers and pulled out his scroll. Opening up his contacts he clicked on an old friend.

Ivin waited for the call to go through. "Hey Nick. You busy?"

 _Queens_

Ratchet saw all of the poor and starving citizens that were on the streets of the slums. He had always thought Queens was a decent place but he never visited it before for reasons. Ruby wasn't enjoying the sight, or smell, of the slums either.

"Ugh when are we gonna get outta here?" She whined.

"Not sure." Ratchet responded, clearly lost in thought.

Ruby hopped in front of him and he didn't notice. He walked into her and almost jumped at the sudden contact.

Ruby frowned. "What's going on?"

"Nothing kid." Ratchet smiled and patted her head. "Just wondering if I could persuade a girl for a quickie."

"Ew." She shook his hand away. "Good luck buddy. You'll catch something just for a few minutes of pleasure?"

Ratchet shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe I will."

The two laughed at their conversation and continued heading north. After a few blocks they saw a sign leading to another section of Queens called Widows Grave.

"Well it's a start." Ruby said sighing. "Just wish we had more info then just a sign."

Ratchet nodded and the two headed towards the sewers.

 _Ivin's tower_

Ivin was on top of his tower leaning against his jet and checking his pocket watch every few seconds. He started to tap his foot on the concrete rather impatiently and groaned.

"How does it take him so long to get here?"

Ivin walked around the jet so he could pass the time. Before long, he saw a light blue light coming towards the tower. His face lit up as he waited for it to come over and land. The light grew closer and Ivin saw his friend and teammate Nick flying with the jet boots he made for him some time ago.

Nick landed smoothly on the roof and waved at Ivin. "Long time no see!"

Ivin walked over to him. "About a year huh?" The two did a small bro hug and parted. "Well how you doing man?"

Nick looked at his arm and leg. "Well what remains human is still there and what is machine is not broken so I'd say I'm doing just fine."

"I see you've actually gotten a sense of humor." Ivin teased.

"Hey I've always been funny."

Ivin rolled his eyes. "Riiight. Anyway I'm sorry for calling at…1:30 AM."

Nick rose an eyebrow. "Yeah…why did you call me out of the blue? Don't get me wrong I'll always come if you need me but it's kinda late dude."

"Actually it's morning but I will ignore your bad sense of time." Ivin commented. "I wanted to see if you wanted to go on a glorious adventure with me and my fancy ride." Ivin gestured towards the jet behind him.

Nick whistled. "Damn that's fancy. Well I'm not busy so why not? Where we headed?"

"The Badlands." Ivin said casually.

Nick laughed and punched him on the shoulder. "Good one man. Seriously, where we going?"

Ivin headed for the jet. "I was being serious. After all, we can't go on a journey if we don't invite her."

Nick sighed and slowly walked towards the jet. "Come on man do we have to invite her? And why is she in the Badlands? Wait how do you know that?"

"You sure ask a lot more questions than I remember."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Widows Grave

As expected of underground sewers, it smelled and was filthy to the point where some of the trash looked like it moved. Not because of the dirty green water, but because the trash probably mutated into a new type of creepy creature. Ruby made sure to pick up the bottom of her cloak and hold it so it didn't get dirty. Ratchet safely tucked away his scarf and didn't worry about the rest of his clothes.

The two walked along a concrete path that had red arrows leading somewhere. The two assumed it would lead them to the Widows Grave but they had no idea.

"So why do you want her so badly?" Ruby asked curiously.

"Freedom is still out there somewhere and when I was out here waiting for you, I heard rumors that The Widow knows everything that has to do with secret underground organizations." Ratchet replied.

Ruby swatted at some flies and spoke. "Freedom isn't really a secret organization anymore. Everyone knows what happened."

"True but do you see the Atlas government concerned about them being out here or getting our heads on a silver platter?"

"Well…when you put it that way I guess you're right."

Ruby and Ratchet continued walking for a few more minutes, following the arrows that lead them through the sewers. Right, forward, down, left, left. It just keep going until they saw a large skull mounted on the wall.

"Is that…a Grimm skull?" Ruby asked as she touched it curiously.

Ratchet shook his head. "No…looks like something that might live out in the Badlands."

Ratchet walked past Ruby and the skull into a narrow passageway. Once he was through he saw a large circular graveyard with a woman dressed in all black laying flowers next to a grave.

Ruby walked up behind Ratchet and saw the woman. "Is that her?" She whispered.

Ratchet didn't respond and slowly walked towards her. "Excuse me. We're looking for someone named The Widow."

The woman sighed and slowly stood up, looking at Ratchet with narrowed eyes. "Assassins?"

"No. Adventurers…or more like criminals these days." He replied.

The elderly woman did not take her eyes off of him. "Aura is leaking off of you like grease in a pan young man. You're a hunter."

"Ex. Been out of that job for a couple years now." Ratchet said as he motioned for Ruby to come to him. "We seek answers about an organization we are hunting."

The woman scoffed. "Out of the game he says. And look at you, demanding answers from an elderly woman so you can _hunt_ down your prey."

Ruby shrugged. "Old habits die hard."

"Young lady you have no idea." The woman slowly sat on one of the tombstones and patted some dust off her dress. "Well? I expected the brave Ratchet to be a bit more talkative."

Ratchet and Ruby froze at what she said and didn't respond to her. How does she know me…?

"W-why would you say that?" Ruby asked with a cheap smile on her face. "Have up you seen this guy? He's more built and uh…taller than Ratchet."

"Cut the crap already. I'm The Widow for crying out loud. I know just about everything and everyone who enters the Badlands."

Ratchet quickly gathered his thoughts. "How did you…?"

The Widow waved her hand. "That's not important. And yes miss Rose, I know who you are as well. Now what is it that you want?"

Ratchet sighed. "I need to know where Freedom is."

"No." She replied.

"No?" Ratchet repeated. "What do you mean no?"

"I mean no dammit." The Widow slowly got up and walked over to a gravestone with the name Jimmy written on it. "Too many have died searching for those guys. Best stay away from them. Go home."

"You don't understand!" Ruby stepped towards her. "We abandoned our lives, friends and families for this! We can't just go back!"

The Widow sighed. "Ratchet. I'm curious…how much stupidity does it take to bring a young girl out here huh? You do know what's deep in the Badlands right?"

Ratchet glanced at his scarf. "Yes and no. I've…seen what ps out there but I've never fought anything or anyone out there. That'd be suicide."

"Your god damn right." The Widow stood up and faced the two. "Listen, drop this. If you don't, you'll cause much more harm than good. Trust me, I would know."

"How?" Ruby asked.

"It's a long story." She looked at Ratchet. "But my family was taken from me. You know what that's like don't you?"

"Yeah…" Ratchet sighed. "I know what it feels like to lose those you love the most."

The Widow took in a deep breath before speaking again. _Knowing them...they won't let this go._ "Freedom is out in the south. Deep in the south. But you aren't ready to go. Not yet."

"How so?" Ruby asked, surprised at her statement and why she decided to help them out of the blue.

The Widow snapped her fingers and seemingly out of nowhere, ninjas appeared on each side of her. "You will need to have better equipment. It'll take about two days but after that you should be fine to go."

The ninjas walked over and held out their hands, waiting to receive the pairs weapons. Ratchet didn't hesitate and gave up his gauntlets since he didn't use them that much anymore. Ruby really didn't want to give up her scythe and Ratchet had to practically pry her off the weapon before giving it to the ninja. They bowed and went up in smoke to who knows where.

"Ninjas huh?" Ratchet asked.

The Widow shrugged. "You get what you get. Now I would like to be left alone. Go the Sun District and wait there until my ninjas summon you."

The Widow got down and placed a cross on another tombstone next to the one that said Jimmy. Ratchet took this as a sign to leave and patted Ruby on the back as they went out towards one of the various tunnels that led in and out of the grave. They made their way towards the Sun District.

 _Outside the walls of Queens_

It was still dark for about three more hours and the night was dusty and silent. Heaps of desert sand rose into the wind and landed on the cracked earth of the Badlands. Looking at the ground made one wonder, was the Badlands a desert once or not? The piles of sand say yes but the vast earth and signs of possible underwater life say otherwise.

The various guards outside of gate 5, which was the gate used to enter Cliffs Edge, were all taking it easy since nothing ever happens on their end. Gates 1,2,3 and 4 usually had crazy days but not gate 5.

Until now.

A figure in a black tattered cloak watched all the guards at a distance and smiled. Revealing sharp teeth and it's glowing red eyes shined so bright that it blinded on of the guards even though they were at least a mile away from each other.

The guard looked around but didn't see what blinded him. He simply rubbed his eye and ignored it.

The dark figure starting walking towards the gate and as it walked, black fog came from under its cloak and slowly surrounded the area around itself. From the outside, it looked like an ordinary dust storm but as it got closer and bigger, some of the guards noticed how it was black.

"What…is that?" One of the guards asked.

"Hehe, it's a distraction." Said a voice behind him.

He turned around and his head came off like the top of a soda bottle. It didn't take long for nearby guards to alert the towers and gate control. The guards all quickly readied themselves but the black figure laughed manically.

"Fools…all of you!" It said.

The black fog was now pushing its way through the the guards and onto the massive gate. The guards caught inside started panicking and grew hungry. Hungry to the point that they were desperate for anything, so long as they had food. Slowly, they all started to eat themselves. The ripping of flesh and snapping of bones was of no concern to the guards, they just needed to eat. They all killed themselves in a matter of minutes.

They black figure absorbed all of the black fog under its cloak and relished the gory sight in front of it. "Simply…divine!"

It turned towards the massive gate and placed a disfigured, sharp clawed hand on it. "You…will be mine…"

After removing it's hand, a black glyph was on the gate and slowly, the massive gate was pulled into oblivion through the small glyph. The black figure licked it's lips and smiled wickedly as it walked into the Slums.

"S-soon…you'll…b-be mine!"

* * *

 **Hey what's up? Been long time hasn't it? Well I just wanted to write you all. See how things are going. Talk about a strange ending though huh?**

 **Anyway, at some point (probably in the middle of the story) new and old characters will obviously be around so I will make a chapter dedicated to like character bios. Giving you a little more understanding of some characters (without giving away any plot points) and give you an updated bio of characters from the last story (obviously like Ratchet and Ruby since, as I'm sure you all know, have changed drastically)**

 **This will also hopefully answer questions about how they feel about things morally, favorite food, least favorite and ability overview.**

 **Well that's it. Oh, and Overwatch is amazing.**

 **\- CLOUD MARIO**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Some Interesting Characters

Outside of the massive walls of Queens stood a woman with a tattered blue cloak. She crouched and pulled out a sniper scope and looked at the massive gate in the distance.

There was a giant 4 on it, indicating that entering through there would put you in District 4 out of 5. Looking around, there were a decent amount of guards that were heavily armored and had some impressive weaponry. The only explanation for all that protection is that behind that gate is The Golden Road, where all the 'rich' people live.

She put her scope back on her sniper and sighed. _Now…how am I gonna do this?_

A massive ear splitting blast could be heard from above. The woman looked up and saw a jet come out of a slipstream and slowly lower itself near her. She quickly pulled out her weapon and aimed it at the cockpit but she gasped when she saw the pilot.

"Ivin?" She said shocked.

The jet slowly lowered and touched the ground. As the ramp lowered, Ivin and Nick walked down it and towards the woman.

Ivin smiled and opened his arms. "Anna!"

Nick groaned. "Anna."

Anna lowered her weapon but not by much. "What do you guys want?"

Ivin looked at her and at the massive gate in the distance. "We're getting the band back together."

"In case you're still lost," Nick chimed in. "Ivin got bored and lonely and decided to get the team together so we could go on an adventure."

Anna laughed. "Right well I'm busy so no. I'm hunting White Rose."

Nick looked at Ivin who sighed. "White Rose is a woman who uses Ruby's scythe and has been cutting people down along with another person right?"

Anna nodded and turned towards Queens. "Exactly. I've been tracking them for a few weeks now but I haven't been able to get close to them because of the aura of the guy she's with. It's intense…"

"Well now we are here." Nick said proudly. "We can help out. We wanted to go on a journey anyway right?"

Ivin nodded. "Yeah. I guess this'll do for our adventure." Ivin set the jet to auto pilot and sent it back to his tower. Afterwards the three slowly walked towards the massive gate of District 4.

 _The Slums_

Ratchet and Ruby walked out of the sewers and followed some signs that pointed towards the Sun District.

"So she was interesting huh?" Ruby asked as she skipped around.

Ratchet sighed. "Yeah. Certainly someone we don't want to cross."

Ruby noticed he looked tired and guessed it was probably extremely irritating for him to be out here for all these years and he still hasn't found Freedom yet. She went to say something but decided to just let him get some quiet time.

As they walked through the dirty streets, they saw people running into their small homes or huddled up in corners while they looked at Ruby. She smiled at the children but they looked away and kept their distance.

Ruby never liked what she had to do out here at first but she grew used to it. That's just the way things worked out here and nothing would change that. The duo reached a huge set of doors that looked to serve as the borders between districts. There were only four guards but they had some serious fire power and heavily armored.

Ratchet walked up to them and cleared his throat to catch their attention. "We need to get through to the Sun District."

"Did The Widow allow this?" One of them asked.

Ratchet nodded and the guards let them through. One of them walked over to a control pad and entered in a code that made the doors open. As they waited for the doors to open fully, Ruby noticed the wall was huge and had laser barriers at the very top, along with some artillery.

"How do they have all this weaponry?" She whispered.

Ratchet just shrugged. It almost looked like it was Atlas property but there's no way Ironwood would ever deal with people out here. No matter how much power The Widow seems to have, Ironwood would never do it.

The doors were now opened enough to let the pair through. They walked into the Sun District.

 _District 4 gate_

Ivin, Anna and Nick walked up to the guards by the gate. They all looked at Ivin with shocked expressions.

"Kekovich? Look it here boys, we got a rich fellow here." The others laughed lightly at the joke.

Ivin sighed. "I take it you're the commander for these guys?"

The man nodded. "Just call me Pat."

"How anti climatic." Anna said under her breath.

"So yeah, we want to get into Queens." Nick said casually.

"Well of course you do boy. But what you don't get is that this is District 4, the gate that protects The Golden Road. Rich folk don't like letting people in, less of course you got some money."

Ivin chuckled. "You know who I am right? Whatever the price is, I can pay it."

Pat smirked. "Yeah? Admission is a million."

"Done." Ivin pulled out his scroll and went into his bank accounts. The Golden Road had a few banks and he located one, went into the database, looked for Pat and delivered the money.

"Now if you'll excuse us." Anna said as she moved passed the stunned Pat with her two companions.

The gates opened and the trio walked through into The Golden Road. What they didn't expect to see was everyone in a panic and frantically trying to save themselves from something.

 _Sun District_

The first thing Ratchet and Ruby saw was a monitor displaying the five gates that protect Queens from outside forces. Gate 5 was red and in critical condition. Apparently there was a breakthrough and it got people worried. Not to the point of panicking but they were still being paranoid.

Speaking of people, the Sun District was much better than the Slums in terms of appearance, atmosphere and how everyone looked. There were many shops, mostly bars, hotels and armor/weapon shops. Everything looked well considering it was out here.

"It's like we aren't in The Badlands anymore." Ruby said as she looked at all the pretty lamps that acted as street lights.

"Yeah." Ratchet guessed it was called the Sun District for two reasons, it was always bright here and during daytime, which is now, sunlight covered this area the most.

As they made their way to one of the various bars, people seemed to notice Ruby but didn't care about her presence.

"How come they are ignoring me?"

"If I had to guess, it's probably because if you were here to kill, you would've been killing already. That or they have a lot of faith in the guards." Ratchet stated.

The two walked into a bar called 'Sunshine and Sunshine' which was probably supposed to be a clever joke because it was located in the Sun District and there was lots of sunlight. The atmosphere inside the bar was as expected, loud and cramped. Although unlike many others that Ratchet had been into, it being loud and cramped felt good rather than bad.

He made his way towards the bartender and Ruby held his hand tight so she didn't get dragged away by the crowd. When they made it, they quickly sat down and took a breather that didn't last for long as a woman came over to greet them.

"Tired already? Y'all just got here!" She said loudly so she could be heard over the singing of the crowd.

"Yeah well we're new here so..." Ruby looked up and the first thing, or things, she noticed was how big her chest was. The last time she saw someone with boobs that big was her sister.

Ratchet seemed to notice as well but instead of being shocked about her breast, he was shocked over who it was.

Her bright smile, long red hair, blue eyes and cowboy hat couldn't make her look like anyone else but one of his few allies out here.

"Jesse?!" He yelled out.

Jesse looked at Ratchet with a weird expression. "Uh, yeah. Who are…" Then it hit her as she saw his scarf and cloak. "Ratchet!" She squeed in excitement and wrapped her arms around the back of his neck and pulled him in. His face was buried into her chest and he quickly pulled away before she killed him.

"Don't be so loud!" He looked around quickly but it didn't seem like anyone noticed his name was called. "You trying to attract attention?!"

Jesse blushed and tipped her hat. "My bad. So? What brings you to Queens? I thought you didn't want to ever come here."

Ratchet was about to reply before he barely dodged some beer being spilt over his shoulder. "Can we please talk somewhere else? Like quiet and private."

Jesse nodded and motioned for Ratchet and Ruby to follow. She led them upstairs and into her personal bedroom which was rather plain and didn't seem to fit given her personality.

"There. Now we can talk up a storm." Jesse jumped onto her bed and sat with one leg crossing over the other. "So can I ask why you're here with White Rose?"

Ratchet looked at Ruby for conformation that it was ok to answer that question and she nodded. "Well…she needs help. I'm helping. Simple as that."

"Oh?" Jesse said with a sly smile. "Something tells me you two might be a lot closer than people think."

Ruby shook her head. "Nah. He's more of a big brother to me."

Ratchet nodded. "She's more of a big ball of constant problems." He joked.

Ruby punched him in the arm which made him laugh. Jesse smiled at the two, mostly Ratchet. "Well I'm glad you're making friends at least."

Ruby looked at Jesse with a raised eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Well," she started.

"It's a long story. It can wait." Ratchet cut her off. "Anyway Jesse, you know anything about what's going on around here?"

Jesse clicked her tongue. "You talking bout the gate 5 incident?" Ratchet nodded and Jesse continued. "Apparently someone or something broke into the gate. Them monitors say critical condition but that's a lie. Damn thing is gone."

"Gone?" Ruby repeated.

"That's what I said." Jesse sighed. "The entire gate is gone and that's not just bad, it's terrible. A crisis even. The District 4 gate protects The Golden Road. That's where all of the Districts in Queens cycle the money. If that goes too, so does what little stability Queens has. I'm surprised The Widow doesn't do something."

"Speaking of her," Ratchet said. "What's her story?"

Jesse shrugged. "She just kinda showed up a long time ago. Some say she was born here, others say she showed up after her family was murdered in one of the kingdoms. All I know for sure is that she's been here for about 23 years."

Ruby whistled. "Long time."

Ratchet slowly stood up and stretched. "Well it's been nice seeing you again Jesse."

Jesse stood up and pouted. "Leaving me already? You still never got me that drink you promised."

"Next time, promise."

"Yeah ok." Jesse hugged him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Ruby walked towards the door but Jesse pulled her into a hug as well.

"Gah! No! You'll kill me with those things!" Ruby's muffled voice could be heard.

Jesse laughed and let her go. "They aren't that big little missy."

As the duo said their goodbyes and headed out, Ratchet thought back to the times he was out here the years before Ruby showed up. He didn't know what he was doing out here at first but he had some help and he thinks he turned out ok.

Ruby saw Ratchet smiling. "Why doesn't she come with us?"

"Nah. She seems happy here. I don't think she'd want to get into the trouble we usually stir up." Ratchet responded.

"Who do y'all think I am?" The duo turned around and saw Jesse standing there with a smug look on her face.

"Jesse, no." Ratchet said.

"You know my daddy gave me this hat." She tipped up her cowboy hat and put on her poncho. "He gave me this poncho as well. And his favorite gun." She holstered her revolver. "Now I might not be the greatest cowgirl out there but I damn sure ain't into the bar life. All they care about is my chest. All I care about is my friends. So, I'm coming along."

Ruby clapped at her small speech and Ratchet sighed. "You haven't changed all these years."

Jesse smiled and wrapped Ratchet into a headlock. "Nope! Now let's go guys! Adventure is out there!"

 _The Golden Road_

In the hour or two they've been here, Ivin, Nick and Anna haven't been given a straight answer on what's going on. The most they've gotten is that people are screaming, running and barricading their homes.

"This is so annoying!" Anna yelled in frustration.

"Tell me about it." Nick said slowly. "This place looks great for being in The Badlands but with all these people acting crazy, it's just sad."

"I don't believe that's what she meant." Ivin said. "But this is crazy. What's going on?"

As if to answer his question, a massive black fog cam over the border between District 5 and 4 and it was moving at an alarming rate. A figure covered in black was in the fog and it placed a black glyph on the border doors. The glyph sucked the walls and the doors into oblivion and the figure kept moving within the fog.

"S-so close…must…f-find…" The figure coughed and gagged as it spoke to itself. The fog touched everyone and everything, people caught within turned inside out and exploded. Nothing could save them as the fog progressed through The Golden Road.

The trio looked at the massive fog and started to move back.

"Guys. We need to move." Anna said slowly.

"Nick…what the hell is that?" Ivin asked.

Nick scanned the fog and inside it but no valid answers from any source from any kingdom was coming up. "I have no idea…but I can see a figure within the fog and it's moving with it."

The figure was a couple blocks away from them and the fog split to the left and right as the figure walked towards them. It slowly lifted its gaze to the three hunters and smiled.

"F-found…you!" It screamed.

The scream was loud and made the three hunters recoil in pain. The figure started running at them at an incredible speed.

"Alright get ready you two!" Ivin yelled as he pulled out his blade. Unlike years ago, he's made modifications to his weapon. It's no longer just a sword, now it's a flaming chainsaw sword.

The figure came at Ivin first and slashed at the air in front of him. At first Ivin was confused but seconds later the air in front of him pulsed and sent him flying. Nick reacted quickly and flew over to catch him while Anna pulled out her scythe. She ran towards the figure and it laughed wickedly as they clashed.

Blade met razor like claws as the two fought each other. Anna swung her scythe around but made sure not to stay too close so she didn't give her enemy an opening. But what she didn't know is that it had an opening already.

The fog surrounded the group completely and there was no escape but directly up. From the outside it looked like a massive black tornado and the rest of the fog was just a blanket over the entire district. Nick and Ivin quickly made their way towards Anna but were blocked off as a massive ball of fog slammed itself in front of them and started to get bigger.

The fog slowly turned into oozing black liquid as the beast formed. When it formed completely, it was the size of a bear.

"An Ursa?!" Nick yelled out confused. It roared and shot out black ooze from its left paw which made the two boys separate.

"Looks like it got an upgrade." Ivin said slowly as he watched the beast.

It was just like an Ursa but with a couple differences. One being that this one can shoot black ooze out of its paws. Ivin got up and readied his blade. He breathed in slowly and rushed the black creature. It saw him and turned its attention on Ivin, roaring in the process.

Nick took this chance to fly up and shoot it's back from the air. Pulse rounds were unloaded onto its back which seemed to stun and irritate the creature. It kept its gaze on Ivin but black tendrils shot out of its back and reached for Nick. He flew away or blasted the ones coming at him but they were keeping him from attacking with his partner.

Ivin saw the tendrils and decided to attack them first. When he was close enough, the beast tried grabbing him but he slid underneath it and quickly jumped up on its back, cutting the tendrils off in the process. The beast howled in pain as the tendrils came off but it wasn't done yet. It grabbed Ivin and slammed him onto the ground. Nick flew down and slammed his metallic fist into the back of its head, bringing it to its knees but not getting Ivin free.

Anna heard the boys struggling but she couldn't help due to her opponent. The figure ducked under a swing of her scythe and rushed her head on. Anna cursed as she quickly switched her weapon to sniper mode and tried shooting the figure but it tackled her to the ground and knocked her weapon away.

"I'll…s-skin…y-you…alive!" It laughed and raised its claws ready to open Anna up like she was a fresh turkey.

Anna gritted her teeth and head butted the cloaked figure hard. It cried out in pain and she pushed it off of her. She rolled towards her sniper and shot a few rounds at it. The bullets hit but they didn't seem to do that much damage.

While the figure started to get up, she rushed towards her friends who were wrestling with a black Ursa. The beast had lost its paw that held Ivin but it regenerated. Ivin was currently slamming his blade into its chest and revved the blade, cutting into it further. Nick changed his plasma cannon into a plasma sword and sliced off the arms before it tried to grab Ivin. Anna switched back to her scythe and cut off the tendrils that grew back.

The beast fell to ground as Ivin cut through its chest and up through its head, setting it on fire in the process. He moved back, out of breath and saw the figure getting up and yelling.

"Nick!" Anna yelled through the screeching. "Get us out of here!"

Nick grabbed Ivin and Anna got on his back. "Alright hold on! I don't know if this'll work!"

Nick flew with his friends up towards the opening of the swirling fog but as they got closer to the top, the sides got smaller and the fog was closing in on them. Nick flew as fast as possible and they almost didn't make it out of the opening. Anna saw some fog got caught on Nick's leg and she quickly kicked it off before it spread.

The figure stared at the three hunters that got away and screamed in frustration.

"You…will all…be m-mine!"

* * *

 **A/N: Alright sorry this took so long. Been a bit busy with some stuff but I've got a couple chapters done which should entertain you all for some time.**

 **\- CLOUD MARIO**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Unexpected Reunions

"Looks like we got trouble." Jesse pointed up at one of the monitors that was blinking red. Another district was taken out.

"The Golden Road?" Ruby said shocked. "Then there's only one district before it comes here right?"

"Whatever it is." Jesse said. "I reckon we head out and take it down before it spreads Ratchet."

Ratchet looked at the people panicking more now. The threat was closer and it was now making people scared. "Yeah. Let's head out to District 3."

 _District 3: Power Grid_

Power Grid was the name of District 3. All electricity that ran through Districts 2,4 and 5 come from here. Think of it as a massive electrical plant that people work and live in. Despite the alerts about The Golden Road and Cliffs Edge, Power Grid stayed up and running. The Sun District was still up and well and that's all that mattered.

One of the electrical engineers was off today. She walked down the streets of Power Grid until she saw something in the sky flying from The Golden Road. People in the streets saw the massive black tornado but they just waved it off, not even caring if it can become a threat and head towards them.

But she knew better than these civilians. The woman quickly headed home and changed into appropriate gear for such an occasion. She wore black trench boots, dark blue jeans that were torn in a couple spots, and a biker jacket she stole from some chump a while back. The last thing she needed was her weapons.

She looked at her spiked gauntlets and smiled. It's been some time since I used these bad boys. Putting on her gauntlets and letting them wrap themselves around her wrists and up her arm until they stopped at her elbow, she checked herself out in the mirror.

She fixed her long blonde hair that went down her entire back and cracked her knuckles.

"Yang Xiao Long is back in action."

 _Border between Districts 2 and 3_

Ratchet patiently waited for the girls to come back from their bathroom break before they all headed to Power Grid. He thought Jesse was joking about the name but at the same time he wasn't all that surprised that it was something so simple.

He sat on the ground with his arms propped up on top of his knees. He looked up at the sky. Its getting dark again. The wind is picking up…I haven't slept…neither has Ruby.

Ratchet slowly started to drift off but he shook his head and woke himself up. Falling asleep now wouldn't be the best idea. He would just have to pull through. If Ruby can do it, so can he.

He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath and exhaled as he thought about what's gonna happen. So much to do…so little time…

"Ratchet? You ok?"

He opened his eyes and saw her again. He knew she wasn't there but it was too real to ignore.

"Ash. Why are you here?" He asked, clearly tired.

Ash giggled. "Why don't you just go to sleep? You don't need to keep fighting all the time."

"If I don't stop Freedom, who will?" Ratchet asked.

"Nobody but that's ok right? You beat them before and I'm sure they won't cause anymore trouble." She tried telling him reassuringly.

Ratchet chuckled at that. "That'll be the day."

Ash sat next to him and held his hand. "It's ok. Your fight ended years ago."

"No…its just starting." He said, more tired than before.

"Just sleep. There's no need for you to be awake anymore. Let the world go."

Ash slowly leaned in and put her lips to his ear. "Come with me." She whispered.

Ratchet slowly closed his eyes. They stayed closed for what felt like an eternity but he felt something shaking him. He tried ignoring it but it was clear whatever was doing it wanted him awake. He opened his eyes to see Ruby and Jesse looking at him with worried expressions.

"Are you doing ok?" Jesse asked. "You seemed like you were dead."

Felt like I was…He thought to himself. Ruby helped him up and he rubbed his eyes. "I'm alright. Just…tired. Let's go ok?"

The two girls didn't believe he was ok but they didn't want to press on about it. The three made their way through the border and into Power Grid.

 _Power Grid_

Nick landed in an alleyway, almost dropping his friends on the way down. They caught their breath and quickly got ready to move. The fog wasn't just going to stop ripping through Queens.

Ivin sheathed his blade and dusted off his pants. "We need to warn these people. Anna, whose in charge of Queen?"

Anna shrugged. "No idea. But I'd say The Widow is since she's the only person I know who has connections and information all around."

Nick checked his fuel and frowned. "Well shit…I don't have enough fuel left to really get us anywhere. Maybe a couple feet but nothing crazy like what we just did."

"No problem Nick." Ivin reassured him. "You did a great job getting us out of there."

The three made their way out of the alleyway and onto the streets. The ground was cracked and ripped apart, with massive wires going through it. The wires had electrical currents going through them and touching it would most likely burn anything to death. Nick grabbed one with his metal hand and it super charged his plasma cannon/sword.

"Well holy shit! That could come in handy!" He said excitedly.

"I hope so." Anna commented.

Ivin looked around and saw nobody was worried about the black fog that was slowly moving towards this area. "Are they aware of what that is and what it's been doing?"

"Nope. And they sure as hell don't care." Said a woman from behind the group.

The three turned around to see an attractive woman with lilac eyes, extremely long blonde hair and a chest like no other. Nobody who knew her could forget her. Yang Xiao Long.

"Yang?!" All three of them said in shock.

Yang raised her hand. "Yup. That's me. Right here."

"But…how long have you been here?!" Anna yelled.

Yang shrugged. "A year or two? Ever since that White Rose character showed up out here."

"Wait," Ivin didn't like what she was saying. "You think White Rose is Ruby Rose don't you?"

Yang didn't like putting it that way but there was no other way to say it. "Yeah. But I won't be surprised if it isn't her. I just want to be sure."

Nick scoffed. "Yang you are gonna ask a killer if she's your sister just to be sure? That doesn't make sense. It's stupid and crazy."

"So was trying to fight and evil organization hellbent on dropping the moon on the planet." She shot back.

"Alright cool it you two." Ivin being the voice of reason as always. "We are here to find her as well Yang. But we're here to stop her."

"Why?" Yang questioned.

Ivin looked at Anna. "That's…a good question. Why are you looking for her?"

Anna sighed. "To be honest…I wanted to know too. I'm hoping it's just a crazy bitch with Ruby's scythe."

"You and me both." Yang said quietly.

A loud siren blared across the district and it alerted the group to the immediate threat that was headed this way. The fog seemed to reach the border between Power Grid and The Golden Road but it stayed put.

"The laser grids." Yang said shocked. "They're actually working. It's keeping it back."

"But for how long?" Nick asked.

"I helped put those up some time ago. I'd say we have about three days before it breaks. Maybe even two." She replied.

"Let's hope it's three." Ivin said. He looked around and spotted a rather tall tower. "Yang can we get up there?"

Yang looked at where he pointed and smiled. "You kidding? That's the best view in the house. Come on." She ran toward the tower and the others followed.

"Why are we going there?" Asked Anna.

"We need to know exactly how big this thing is." Ivin said as they ran to the tower.

 _Power Grid_

Jesse led the way towards the massive tower. Ratchet and Ruby needed to get up there so they could see what exactly is going on. If they got up there and used Ruby's scope, they could figure out what the threat is and try to stop it.

Black smoke appeared in front of the group as they headed towards the tower. Jesse stopped dead in her tracks and pulled out her revolver, which was aimed at the head of a ninja. The ninja paid her no mind and looked at Ruby and Ratchet.

"From The Widow." He said and revealed Ratchet's gauntlets and Ruby's scythe.

The gauntlets had tubes on the side of them that seemed to have a orange liquid in them that almost looked like liquid fire. The knuckles were spiked and the gauntlets were reinforced to withstand a lot more punishment than thought possible. They also had a new coat of paint, black with red flames coming up from the fingers. The gauntlets when put on, covered his arms up to his elbows.

Ruby's Crescent Rose didn't change in appearance but the blade was much longer and sharper. The ghostly white was even more pale than before. As if slicing it would kill anything physical or spiritual. She still loved it anyway and was glad her weapon was back where it belonged.

The ninja took out a smoke bomb but before using it he spoke again. "The Widow says to take care of the threat. Then she'll tell you more about Freedom." The ninja disappeared in smoke after that.

"Didn't she say these would take two days to fix up?" Ruby asked.

Ratchet shrugged. "Ninjas work fast."

Jesse holstered her weapon and sighed. "Y'all are strange. Come on! We gotta hurry to that tower!"

The three waisted no time getting to the tower. As they were finally on the same street as it, they saw four others running towards them.

"Civilians?" Ruby asked

"No…them don't like civ's." Jesse replied.

Ratchet wasn't going to say anything until he saw the long golden hair of the woman in front of the three. "Oh no…"

Yang and the others were having the exact same conversation and reacted the same way when they saw White Rose. The two groups stopped and met in front of the doors heading into the tower. Nobody moved as they made eye contact with one another. Ruby tried desperately to not look into Yang's eyes but she couldn't and Yang knew why.

It was her sister.

"R-Ruby?" She said with tears in her eyes.

Ruby didn't know what to do so she tapped into her semblance and zoomed into the tower. Yang shouted for her to wait and chased after. Ivin, Anna and Nick went after them but Jesse shot three bullets into the ground next to their feet.

"Hold it. You aren't going anywhere." She said with a sly smile as she reloaded.

Ratchet couldn't believe his old team was here but it's not like they would recognize him right away.

Nick scanned the two in front of him. "The girls name is Jesse. The guy…Ratchet?" He said in disbelief.

Fuck me… he thought.

Ivin and Anna just looked at Ratchet and if they removed the beard, scarf and cloak, it was him.

"No…way…" Ivin said shocked.

"You're supposed to be dead!" Anna screamed in frustration.

Ratchet sighed. Then chuckled. Then just laughed. "Yeah. Now you know exactly how I felt when Irene popped up out of nowhere four years ago."

Ivin drew his sword. Nick readied his cannon. Anna released her ghostly scythe. Jesse aimed her revolver and Ratchet activated his gauntlets. It wasn't the greatest reunion ever, but it was a start. A reenactment of what happened four years ago with Irene at the docks was now going to take place in the Badlands but instead of Irene looking like the bad guy, it was Ratchet.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Sorry for the short chapter.**

* * *

Chapter 6: Friend Or Foe

The blaring of the sirens has stopped. The barriers were holding together and keeping the fog at bay but not forever. Ratchet and Jesse were facing off against Ivin, Anna and Nick while Ruby and Yang were inside the tower.

It was clear they were very unhappy with Ratchet but saying sorry was clearly not enough. They would have to fight each other in order to understand each other's feelings.

"Psst! Ratchet." Jesse whispered, getting his attention. "I'll take the cyborg there. You can handle the other two?"

Ratchet looked over Ivin and Anna. He doubted he could beat them. The last time him and Ivin fought was four years ago and it's not like it was just them. Yang was in the fight too. He also had no idea what Anna could do now.

"I can try. Don't do anything stupid alright?" He asked.

Jesse nodded and fired off the first shot. Nick reacted quickly and blocked it with a plasma shield. The two started trying to gun each other down as the other three got out of their way and began their own fight.

Ratchet went after Anna first since she might be a bigger threat with the range of her scythe. He barley dodged her swift attack though when he he was in range. She relentlessly attacked him, almost catching his loose cloak a couple times. The white blade cut through the ground and would most likely cut him in half if she hit him dead on. Instead of relying on his aura to save his life, he used his gauntlets.

Anna raised her scythe and brought it down towards Ratchet's head. He caught the blade with hit gauntlets, not taking any sort of damage but he felt his aura being drained away. He threw Anna to the side but Ivin took this chance to get in a good kick to his side. Ratchet fell back and blocked Ivin's blade with hit arm, which was covered thanks to his gauntlets. The blades small teeth starting spinning and trying to rip through the armor. There were only sparks at first but in some time, it would cut through.

Ratchet tried making a ball of fire in his other hand but he was forced to stop and grab Anna's foot before it stomped his face in. He had both his arms occupied and he was stuck.

"Jesse! Help!" He called out.

Jesse was in an intense firefight with Nick but took a second to look away, fire a bullet into Ivin's knee and get back to Nick. The injured Ivin loosened his grip slightly but it was enough for Ratchet to push him off completely. Anna switched her scythe to sniper and fired into Ratchet's stomach. The bullets bounced off of what was left of his aura but now it was all gone.

Ratchet threw a fireball towards Anna and she dodged it with ease but wasn't able to react fast enough when he grabbed her by the throat. Anna dropped her sniper and struggled against his grip but she was losing consciousness. Thankfully, Ivin was able to rescue her by tackling Ratchet to the ground. Anna rolled to the side, catching her breath while Ivin got on top of Ratchet with a fire in his eyes.

"Why!" Ivin screamed, punching Ratchet in the face. "What drives someone to do this?! To go to such lengths!"

Ivin went to punch him again but Ratchet caught his fist and pushed him to the side, switching their roles.

"You would never understand!" He punched Ivin in the face, cutting his cheek with his bladed knuckles and making him struggle more. "This isn't something that can be solved with money or good looks!"

Ivin gritted his teeth and pushed him away. Ratchet fell to his back and got up to his hands and knees, breathing heavily. Ivin rolled away some feet and was sitting there looking at his former leader like he was someone or something else.

The wind was picking up, the sky's darkened and lightning lit up the dark sky's. In an instant, the weather changed. In the Badlands it wasn't unnatural for this to happen but for it to happen now, it was like this feud between old friends was destined to happen.

Anna looked between the two, unsure of how she should help Ivin or stop them from killing each other. Jesse and Nick have stopped fighting as well. Both were tired, Jesse was low on ammo and Nick had no fuel left to even hover off the ground.

Ivin couldn't wrap his head around why Ratchet was doing this, the way he was acting. "Why?!"

Ratchet clenched his fists and looked him dead in the eyes. "People change Ivin! It's been four goddamn years!"

"What happened to you?!" Ivin pleaded for an answer. "What happened to the man I used to know?"

"I'm not that man anymore…" Ratchet replied.

The two stood up and faced each other. The lightning cracked and sparked, connecting with the antenna at the top of the massive tower. Ivin had to know one more thing, just one before he decided on what he should do.

"Ratchet…are you still my friend? Or are you an enemy?" Ivin asked.

"If it means you'll shut up and get out of my way, I'm your enemy."

After saying his piece, Ratchet clenched his fists and the orange liquids inside the tubes on his gauntlets started to glow. Ivin tightened his grip on his blade and it started to rev up. The former friends ran towards each other, killing intent was radiating off of them. They were close to clashing when suddenly another crack of lightning struck the top of the tower and it made the antenna at the top fall over along with Ruby and Yang.

Everyone's attention was now focused on the sisters falling to their death.


End file.
